If you read the post from yesterday, you know that I had my second go-round attempting to replicate the creamy coconut shrimp from Wegmans (using this recipe). This was what the end result looked like:
While it was delicious and we gobbled it all up, I had several issues in making the sauce with this one. It still didn’t feel as if the sauce was done completely right and so in turn I decided to conduct further research regarding the sauce portion of this recipe to figure out what is what.
The original recipe calls for milk and coconut cream. Well… first thing is, we do not drink regular milk so we never have any in the house. I made the sauce first with soy milk, which didn’t seem to go well because it looked like the milk had curdled (which soy milk does tend to do when heated). I couldn’t confirm based on smell/taste tests whether it had in fact curdled or not, but certainly didn’t want to serve curdled milk sauce (ew…just ew). So after some words of exasperation being hurled towards the sauce (because clearly it’s all the sauce’s fault), I threw that batch out and tried again. This time, however, I tried it with evaporated milk (figuring it’s used for hot recipes all the time so it should work, right?). Wrong. Or so it seemed, anyway. Based on appearance, this batch did the same thing as the previous batch, in looking like the milk had curdled. The difference with this batch, though, was that it definitely smelled and tasted fine. Actually no, it tasted better than fine; it was delicious. So as it was now almost 9pm and our stomachs were growling up a storm, I proceeded with finishing that sauce and that’s the one we used for the shrimp.
Now, based on taste alone (and really, overall look as in the photo I posted), the recipe was a raging success. If you’re anything like me, though, eating something that up close looks like curdled milk just doesn’t feel right. So I have been bothered by the fact that I shared this recipe on here when I don’t feel that I have quite mastered it. Once I started thinking more about it, though, I began to wonder if the less-than-desirable appearance has to do with the coconut cream, rather than the milk. I also started wondering if I had actually used the right product, as I have never cooked with anything other than coconut milk and when I searched Wegmans’ website for “coconut cream” and it resulted with “cream of coconut”, I just assumed (we all know what that does…) they were the same thing. To my credit, Wegmans has pretty much everything you could ever want/need for your cooking needs, so I figured if there were 2 separate and distinct products, they would have both; and, along those same lines, the fact that they didn’t and that “cream of coconut” contains the same words as “coconut cream”, just with an “of” thrown in, furthered my belief that they must be the same thing.
As you’ve probably already deduced, this logic was incorrect. After conducting some online research today, I found they are actually completely different products. Coconut cream is basically the thick top layer of coconut milk (if you don’t shake your can of coconut milk before opening it, what’s on top will be coconut cream). So, essentially, ingredients for coconut cream should consist of coconut milk. Period. Cream of coconut, on the other hand, is some sweet concoction made up of coconut juice, sugar and a bunch of weird ingredients with long names. Who knew?! Well, I guess a lot of people, actually… So I was left with a burning desire to obtain the actual coconut cream and try the sauce again to see what would happen. Fortunately, we have a Trader Joe’s in our area, and what I have come to realize is that while they do not have everything that Wegmans does, they tend to have the things I need/want that Wegmans does not, including coconut cream. Not so fortunately, they are currently out of stock of coconut cream (of course, right?). If, however, coconut cream is simply what is on top inside the unshaken, full-fat coconut milk can, why can’t I just buy me some coconut milk, refrain from shaking the can and scoop the cream out from there? I say there’s no reason why not; so after stopping on the way home for a can of full-fat coconut milk (I do believe it needs to be full-fat, because the light version wouldn’t have the cream on top or at least it wouldn’t be as thick), I whipped up a batch of the sauce. Also, as I started putting it together, realizing the regular milk issue has still not been resolved, questions arose in my mind as to how I would ever determine whether the issue is the coconut cream or the milk if I keep using both. Further, it was coconut MILK I was using to obtain the cream from after all, so why not just use some more coconut milk as the milk ingredient? I couldn’t think of a reason why not, so coconut milk was used as the milk ingredient. The result was a sauce had a much thicker, creamier texture than the other batches (both having been made with the cream of coconut) and the mayonnaise seemed to mix in easier as well.
Up close, it still almost has the same curdled milk appearance, but as there was absolutely no regular milk involved, I have to deduce that this part of the sauce’s appearance is simply a coconut thing. Taste-wise, since the cream of coconut has all kinds of sugars in it, the sauce last night was much sweeter. Personally, Ilya and I really liked the taste of the sauce last night, but it was definitely sweet. This one tastes great as well, is still sweet in a less flashy way and is thicker and creamier. For me, this one tops the list, but honestly I think you could use whichever you want (cream of coconut or coconut cream), really, depending on the consistency and sweetness you want. For those of you used to cooking with coconut products, you probably wouldn’t have even questioned the sauce, but for anyone else who might try the recipe for the first time and isn’t familiar with the coconut products (like me), do not be alarmed by the appearance. Just taste it and let its creamy deliciousness soothe your mind and soul.
Now that there is a bunch of coconut cream sauce sitting in the refrigerator, plans for the last recipe I’m making for the week have changed and now involve cooking up some chicken tomorrow night in the same way as the shrimp for (just cooked longer since it’s chicken, not shrimp) and using this sauce with it over some rice. Yum! I’m sure once Trader Joe’s gets its actual coconut cream back in stock there will be further scientific research/experimentation, but for now I do believe I’ve had my fill of cooking with coconut.
And so concludes today’s public service announcement on the differences between coconut cream and cream of coconut and phase 1 of the coconut cream sauce experimentation. Stay tuned for further results to follow at a later date.